inside out me

ever wonder if the little things that make you you
are weird?

 

did you know that:
 

there's an actual medical condition called  black hairy tongue. look it up.
do you think i have it? 
 

 

okay that was just for laughs, here we go~

****************************


*most days when i look in the mirror it surprises me that
I've grown so old.

 *i have major, and i mean major packing anxiety. when

someone is going on a big trip, sometimes i say to them a

week or so beforehand

"have you started packing yet?"

if they answer no...i feel a little queasy- seriously? how can you be

flying to aruba on friday and not have started to lay out and obsess

over what to bring!!!

if i'm going with you -anywhere- expect this former girl scout to

have your back if you forget anything. i come prepared.

 

 

*i wore my retainer for about 15 years after getting my braces off in

 10th grade. it wasn't until my toddler accidentally stuck it in her mouth

instead of her pacifier that i decided to give it up.

(kidding)

i never wanted those eye teeth to go back up in the old

vampire position! seriously.

 

*i am easily grossed out. do not- and i mean do not

expect me to look at your bad owie, or describe anything with the words

pus or ooze in them to me. pleeease

 

i can't stand long fingernails OR toenails on men.

girls can have long nails if they're clean, but girls shouldn't have long toenails- right?

(i knew a girl who's toenails would wear out the front of her

shoes because she never cut them.)

 

*i eat a lot of junk. always have- probably always will. as i age

i intersperse it with more and more real foods, but if you knew what

i survived on for the beginning of my life, you'd wonder how i

did survive. this maybe goes to prove that a person can

grow and flourish on nothing but salty chips and cheese?   : D

*if you hear of a study being done on poor nutrition let me know k. i'd be a great case study.

i've certainly grown, and i've flourished quite a bit too.

 

have you flourished? that's a funny thing to say.

 

*i'm a home body. i like to stay pretty much in a 10 mile radius of my casa.

when i go further i feel like i'm on vacation.

and vacation means i have to pack. and you know how i feel about packing.

 

*i always have something to eat in my purse. that actually comes in real

handy if you're my child or friend. hungry? just dig around and help yourself.

* I see things that i want to photograph in pretty much any situation. i see
beauty everywhere.

HEY~ I GOT A NEW CAMERA TODAY!
more on that later

* i love to bake but don't really like to cook meals.

* i cry easily but love anything that makes me laugh~ funny people
are my favorites.

* i was really bad at math and science- the hard subjects in school-
i did however love english, spelling, typing, art classes. go figure.

*i love to watch old episodes of seinfeld, king of queens and family feud.

* i don't like to listen to oldies channels on the radio.

* i save any book i read and love. books are crucial to my happiness.
my nook is great, but i will always love to hold an actual book in my hands

* i can't see myself ever having any kind of plastic surgery- i have
however had my stash lasered off- best thing ever!

*one of my prize possessions is the guitar my grandpa bought me
when i was in junior high.

*i am addicted to chap stick.

*********************

now- i'd love you to give me a shout back, tell me a couple interesting things about you.
come on...you know you wanna.




xo, beth





 

 

 

 

 

my garden gloves got dirty~

here's what's making me all kinds of happy today~  I decided to tackle a big gardening project that was way overdue. the flower bed that is right in front of our house had gotten so overgrown, weedy and well...just blah. nothing blooming this time of year and way too much shade. the shade part I can't do much about- as there is a big tree canopying overhead- but i have been admiring other people's gardens the last couple weeks and paying particular attention to what was blooming in them.

before i turned off the lights late last night i did some research, made a list  of plants to try and find and then bright and early this morning - (is 9:50 bright--or early where you come from)?  i headed to bachmans garden center and got a big old cart full of goodies and headed home.

it would have been so grand if i could have just started planting- but "wait a minute"- remember how i said the garden was overgrown and weedy? well before i could reward myself with the fun part i had some work to do. i just about filled our dumpster with all the crap i dug out of this flower bed. (shhh, don't tell lars- he hates when i put yard stuff in there cause you're not really supposed to- dude's a rule follower. i figure it's a whole lot better than all the diapers and trash that goes to the landfill).  : )

                                                             before. colorless. blah.

 

                                                                               before...

 
                                                                   
                                           here comes the fun part~a car full of healthy new perennials

 

 

 

 

 

i bought coreopsis in 2 different colors,

2 balloon flowers (never had them before- i hope they don't spread fast),

2 pink turtle head plants- again hope they aren't quick spreading,

2 royal blue delphiniums,

a yellow galardia,

an orange butterfly bush &

2 mum plants.

 

 

after 3 hours of weeding, dead heading and digging out plants i no longer wanted,

i started planting and then when i was finished i gave the whole front

yard a good long soaking with the sprinkler.

 

man it felt good to walk around my garden tonight and

see it all cleaned up and plants with flowers on them!

 

here's a few more shots of the new little inhabitants all snug in their

new homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   have you heard of earthing yet? it's believed

to be a way to improve your health. look it up! i should have gotten

my dose of vitamin D today friends.

 

(by the way- earthing means connecting with the earth directly-

whether you just sit on the lawn, play in the ocean or pull weeds and get

your hands dirty.  doing something that connects you directly with the

earth every single day not only keeps you grounded- it may even

make you healthier).

 

i didn't even need that excuse, but i'm willing to

believe in the health benefits of the great outdoors.

 

go roll around outside why don't ya?

 

i'm going to hit the shower and wash off the evidence of a good days work.

xo, beth

 

 

 

                                                               every child is born an artist~

                                       the problem is how to remain one

                                              when you're grown up.

                             

                                                                                                                      Pablo Picasso

                  
                                                                              
           

                                                                                     have an wonderful weekend,
                                                                                                                  xo  beth

 

 

 

 

ever seen a tadpole tantrum?

 sunday afternoon my partner in crime maggie and i, decided that we were going to spend the next day together. we didn't know quite what we wanted to do- but after tossing a couple other options around, we decided to take her adorable 3 yr. old ~whom i still refer to as my dula baby since i was on board when she was born~ and head to the minnesota landscape arboretum.  I hadn't been out there yet this summer- ( which is such a shame- as i live less than 5 miles from this incredible playground for both children and almost grown ups-like me!) you know me- if there is anything cute or interesting to photograph- i will be snapping pictures along the way.

i hadn't had the fun of taking Josie's pictures for quite a while and it was a blast. girlfriend is so hilarious, cute as a bug's ear and animated. she'd pose for me and then dart off to explore whatever captured her attention next.

here is a snippet of the fun that we had on monday. (it may be a lot of photos- but i could have added more-so get a cup of coffee and get settled k.?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

o.k., here's where the hilarious part of the story started to happen.... maggie bent over and let this little green tree frog crawl up on her finger and jos admired it and then even held it for a while (such a brave girl)- then maggie noticed that there were tadpoles in the fountain too! she scooped one up and josie proceeded to try and catch one to hold. she couldn't get a hold of one and it caused a full blown meltdown. the kind only a 2-3 year old is capable of having. it makes me chuckle every time i think about it.

she stood up and stomped to the opposite side of the pond crying and then sat down and looked over her shoulder at her momma and i and screamed "the tadpoles don't LIKE ME"!!!  (maggie and i didn't even try not to laugh- we just  threw back our heads and had a good laugh about it and let her stew a little while before m. headed over to console her and cheer her up). the whole episode lasted about 2 minutes-but will make me smile for a long time.  : D 

 the photo below looks all sweet and precious, but it was the end of the "tadpole tantrum".

      pretty sure jos was doing some meditative deep breathing here- getting her mo-jo back. 
                                                      

                                       it worked!!!    look at this angelic smile!

                                   course i had to get my picture taken with the little honey too~

                           aren't they adorable? Maggie is an amazing mother to this lucky little girl.

                                                                it was pure joy watching this little girl
                                                 discover the wonder of the arboretum for the very first time.

                                     
                                                                                 there's just something so
                                                                        magical about a lazy summer day isn't there?
                                                                                                      xo, beth

 

friday night lights

                    last friday I joined friends for a local rodeo. I LOVE A GOOD OL'  AMERICAN 
                                                                       SMALL TOWN RODEO!!!
                        the 5 of us sashayed up to the concession stand for the obligatory hot dog
                                           before finding our seats and enjoying a fun evening of calf
                                                                   roping and bull riding.

                                       here's us cowgirls lined up ready for fun and below
                                           these two cowboy wanna-be's asked if they could sit with us.
                                                 (dude on the left swore his cowboy gear was in his other pickup truck).

                     the evening ended with a bunch of redneck volunteers going out in the arena
                              to face off against a big bull that had REALLY big horns. there was only
                           a cheap costco tote table between them! it made me squirm...i'm not going
                                           to lie and say it didn't.  that big old bull kicked up dust 
                                                 and rammed into the table a few times
                                                but they all got out unscathed-leaving me
                                                    to wonder if maybe my group should try it next year.

                                                                        yeah right....hahaha~  yeah right

now i'm going to switch gears and put up a few pictures from wednesday

 night at burger moe's, dining and enjoying the music of the dead pigeons.

 

 

i don't remember when I've enjoyed a summer evening as much. this joint is so laid back and cool i felt like i was on vacation. the weather was as perfect as perfect could be and it was the first time hearing the band that friend and old neighbor kid ryan is in. (he's on the left and one heck of a mandolin player) if you get a chance- go hear them play there any wednesday night. easy blue grass music. loved them!

 

 

 

the band had a great old trunk full of free shirts with a hand stenciled logo on them

check out mark sporting his!  :  )

 

(rumor has it that mark was first runner up or second cousin to the homecoming king in high school- he's that kind of nice).

    i told him he looked more medical than groupie to me in his shirt. he's the father

to the handsome mandolin player too.

 

 

this is my friend mary~

 

 

 

baby Jackson, who you've met before pretty much stole the show though and he got

fought over and passed around-that is till he had a large accident that kind of

shut down his popularity with everyone but his grandma and mama for a bit...

 

i went along to the bathroom for the haz mat cleanup that followed... i'm a mother to

three and have never once had to completely strip down a baby and give them a bath like they did to this little fella. as usual he just smiled thru the whole affair. (and as per usual if i'm there, i will document these auspicious occasions.)

 

 

mark and cindy are going to be the grandparents to another little

papoose by fall and here's the proof~

 

hi keely and papa aaron!

 

 

i know that was a lot of pictures but i wanted to get caught up before the weekend and

what will surely be more to come....

 

we're headed north and it sounds like the weather will be so much cooler than the last couple times we've been to the lodge that i'm betting we'll feel like a bonfire and

smores. crazy minnesota weather- last week it was so hot we about melted and now it'll be in the mid 40's here at night.

 

hugs you guys,

xo beth

 

 

 

 

 

late yesterday i took a mini vacation. i loaded my $15 huffy garage sale bike (that really IS
an awesome bike- i don't care how much my youngest- who owns one of those designer babies- laughs at it) i drove to excelsior and hopped on the amazing bike trail that runs alongside lake minnetonka.

i hadn't been pedaling long when i just had the nicest feeling settle over me. it was almost a religious experience.it was warm out and there were no bugs flying as fast as I was flying. off to the side of the trail was the beautiful lake and it was so peaceful.  there is dense woods on both sides of the trail too so occasionally it was dark and mysterious. i had great music playing in my ear and the occasional walker, runner, biker to smile and nod at. and then there were the homes.

* oh my, the homes. for all i knew i could have been far far away on a vacation. it could have been a bike ride in nantucket! you get to see homes along the trail that you'd never see from your car- and there are some beauties.  anyone biking with me probably would have been annoyed by all the stopping to take pictures- so i was glad i was alone this time.    :  )

my destination was the cottagewood general store. it's a throwback to norman rockwell 
days and pretty much the cat's meow in my book. i got there about 8 p.m. so it had just closed and i didn't get to buy an orange crush and sit outside to sip it, but that's o.k.~
next time! in the little village of cottagewood where the store is, the homes are adorable too.
they are quaint and all drapey with flowers and "oh so cottagey". here's some pictures for y'all.

                                                                                check out the rock work on this old beauty!

                                                                       this cute little girl had just closed the store- shucks!

                                                                                 if this was a  b & b  i'd so be reserving a room...

                                                                                         this is one of the marinas on the way

                                                 please take a moment to say "ahhhhhhhhh"  about this amazing tree.

                                              

                                                  
                                               then back in excelsior, this mural is on the side of a shop called artworks

                                              hope you enjoyed kind of being on my bike ride with me.
                                  i came home with my cup not just half full- it was right up to the top.


                                                    i have some pictures from the rodeo too and later this
                                                           week i hope to have a little somethin-somethin to
                                                                   show you of last weekend's wedding celebration.

 
                                                                  right now i'm off to peel peaches and make jam,

                                                                                                      xo, beth

                   p.s. i also want to send a big virtual hug to my dear sister out in the oil fields
                          of north dakota. she and her hubbie are living and working there for
                          the next year or two and today she feels very far away. LOVE YOU sis!!!